Flower of Black
by Aisu Hoshino
Summary: The story of Andromeda Black including important events from her childhood, school days, and how she defied her family in falling for muggleborn Ted Tonks.


**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to JKR, not me.

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I remember well the day my mother informed me that I was going to be an older sister. The news was a pleasant surprise to me; I had wanted a younger sibling ever since my friend Kalahari had bragged about her parents having a child. I remember being jealous every time she told me of how wonderful it was. And when my mother told me, I was so excited about being able to have the same experiences as Kalahari and having another kid around constantly instead of the few times every year that there were parties (which, aside from the being-around-other- children part, I hated), the occasional visit of a close family friend, and of course the times Kalahari came over, but I was ready for her to go after an hour or two. Words could not describe my joy. 

I suppose I best introduce myself before continuing this story any further. My name is Andromeda Tonks, formerly Andromeda Black, eldest daughter of Rose and Aries Black, and if you haven't guessed yet, then I should tell you that this is my story. This is my story, which neither my father, my sisters, nor the Dark Lord himself can erase, regardless of how they may or may not want to.

Anyway, back to the story. I, as stated, was joyous. I can't imagine how much I must have annoyed my parents by my constant questions. I would ask if it was time for the baby to be born ("Still a few more months, Ann." they'd reply), what its name was going to be ("Orion Aries if a boy, and Bellatrix Dahlia in the event of a girl."), whether it was going to be a boy or a girl ("A boy, for certain," Father would say confidently, only to be reminded by Mother that they could not know for sure), and where babies came from (which was always replied to by an abrupt change-of-subject by my mother, but I was told by my father that I would be told when I was older, and any further pestering I did was ignored by him). Nothing could sadden me; nothing, that is, until the day Kalahari and Sahara (Kalli's younger sister) came over because their father had business to attend to and their mother wanted to go shopping.

Me and Kalahari were playing with my dolls in my room when Mother came in to ask us what kind of cookies we wanted Tipsy (our house-elf) to make. As soon as the question escaped her lips, Sahara (who was sleeping in another room) began to cry.

"Just tell the answer to Tipsy," she told us before leaving the room to attend to Sahara.

"There she goes again, hogging all the attention. Seems like she'd be tired of it by now," Kalahari said bitterly.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"You'll know as soon as your little brother or sister is born."

"I still don't understand," I declared, wondering what Kalli was on about now.

"Ever since Sahara was born, no one ever cares about me anymore. Whenever she's awake everyone's _always_ wanting to hold her and fuss all over her, and when she's asleep she's all anyone talks about. And whenever Mum and Dad do talk or play with me, she always interrupts by crying."

I looked at her, a bit shocked. Was this the same Kalahari who bragged to no end about being an older sister? I shook my head before replying with, "Kalli, just because your parents do that, doesn't mean mine will."

"They probably will be; Priscilla Malfoy's parents are the same way since Lucius was born. Face it: all parents forget about their oldest children when a new baby was born."

I didn't say anything, but shook my head and contemplated it. I didn't want to admit it, but what she said got to me. I was worried until supper that night; a few hours after Kalli and Sahara were gone.

"Annie, dear what's wrong?" Mother inquired of me, about to put a spoonful of black-eyed peas into her mouth.

"Nothing," I lied.

"Something is," she responded, placing the spoon back on her plate. It was then that my father quit eating and stared at me, searching my eyes to see if there really was something the matter with me.

"It's nothing," I lied again. I didn't want to bother them.

"Andromeda Rose Black, do not lie to us," Father ordered sternly.

"Well," I began, fiddling with my peas by means of my spoon, looking down in my plate, "It's just something Kalahari told me today..."

I then relayed to them what Kalahari had told me earlier that day. After I was finished, they glanced at each other and looked at me, and then...

They laughed.

I looked at them both, surprised and confused by their outburst. Once they regained their normal composure (which didn't take long), my father spoke.

"Rose, I do believe you owe me ten galleons and one of those chocolate pies you make so well..."

I stared at them, still perplexed by their behavior. Very seldom were they this laidback and it was at my expense. I wanted to cry at it all. Instead, I stared at my plate, which still had a lot of uneaten food on it.

My mother looked at me and then spoke softly, "Andromeda, don't look so downhearted; we were only laughing because we've been expecting this for months."

"Been expecting what for months?" I questioned.

"We've been expecting you to be worried that the baby will make us forget you, but there's nothing to be worried about," Mother assured.

"There isn't?"

"No, Andi, there's not. The baby will require a lot of attention, but we'll still love you just as much."

I smiled, knowing now by my parents that I had nothing to worry about to begin with. I was joyous again, and went back to impatiently waiting on the birth of my parents' second child.

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**Author's Notes:**_This is a fic focusing on Andromeda, obviously, and is the first in a series I plan on calling the To Be A Black series (each one will focus on a certain Black) and is one of the few HP fics that will be posted here (the rest can be found by clicking on my homepage in my bio). The next three updates should be posted soon, as they're already written, but I don't know how quickly updates will come after that. I hope you like this, and please review – all comments are appreciated. Aisu/Lynn_


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